The Poundcake

As the name suggests, 'Poundcake' typically means a type of cake traditionally baked with a pound of each of the four ingredients, viz: butter, flour, eggs and sugar. These cakes are generally baked in either a loaf pan or a Bundt mold. Bundt molds are pans which are round in shape with a hole in the center. In Denmark, Kransekages are baked in these types of molds. Poundcakes are very dense cakes because of the sheer amount of butter that goes in to the making of this cake. In some countries vegetable oil is used as a substitute hence reducing the denseness and thus making the cake light and fluffy. Poundcakes are usually served after dusting them lightly with powdered sugar or confectionery sugar or can also be given a coat of vanilla flavored icing.

Ingredients and Measurements:

Butter, Flour, Sugar: 1 Pound each
Eggs: 6
Milk: 3/4 cup
Vanilla Essence: 1Tsp
Almond Extract: 1Tsp (I used Lemon Extract as I did not have Almond Extract and I just loved the hint of lemon flavor lingering at the back)

Procedure

Mix the butter and the sugar. Then mix the flour and the milk alternatively. Then put the vanilla essence and the almond extract. Grease a pan and bake at 149 degrees Celsius for about 1 hour. Depending on the size of your pan the time taken may vary from 1 hour to 1.5 hours. Mine was a small pan so I finished baking the whole of the prepared batter in three batches. I even managed to make 7 cupcakes. Stick in a skewer or a toothpick to check whether the cake is done or not. Overturn the cake onto a plate and let it sit for approx. 10 minutes. Gently tap underneath the pan and slowly the cake will slide onto the plate.

French Butter Cookies

Sablés, which is also known as French Butter Cookies, originates from Normandy in France. The cookie is crumbly in texture and derives it's name from 'Sablés', which in French stands for 'sand'. Traditionally the cookie is round in shape with fluted edges. The top of the cookies are usually brushed with egg wash to give them a shiny appearance. The classic finishing touch, which makes these cookies instantly recognizable, is to score a criss-cross pattern on the top of each. The flavor of the Sablés is dependent on the quality of the ingredients, especially the butter and vanilla extract. I chose to be a non-conformist with both the shape of the cookie and the pattern. Here's my version of the French Butter Cookies.

Ingredients

For the Cookie

10 Tbsp Unsalted Butter in room temp

1/2 cup Granulated Sugar

1 large Egg in room temperature

1 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

2 cups All-Purpose Flour

1/2 Tsp Baking Powder

1/4 Tsp Salt

Egg Wash

1 Large Egg

1 Tbsp Water

Directions for Preparation

1. Beat the butter and sugar together with an electric/hand mixer until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes). Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until blended. 
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat just until incorporated. Do not over mix the dough. At this point it is advisable to use your hands instead of the mixer. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface, knead the dough a few times to bring it together, and then divide the dough in half. Wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm (at least an hour). 
3. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Remove one portion of the dough from the refrigerator and place on a lightly floured work surface. Roll out the dough until it is approx. 1 cm thick. Use a round fluted cookie cutter to cut out the cookies, placing them on the prepared sheet. I used a flower shaped cookie cutter instead just to give it a shape variation. Place the baking sheet of cut out cookies in the refrigerator for about 15 -20 minutes to chill the dough. 
4. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the egg with the water for the egg wash. Remove the cookies from the refrigerator and brush the tops with the egg wash. Make the crisscross pattern on the top of each cookie with the tines of a fork. I chose not to make the classic pattern.

1. Bake cookies in the preheated oven for about 12-14 minutes or until golden brown around the edges.

1. Let the cookies cool down on a wire rack. And enjoy. Storing in an air tight container will help preserve the cookies for about a week.

Eggless Vanilla Sponge

Condensed Milk:1/2 cup

Butter:1/2 cup

Milk:1/2 cup

Flour:1.25 cup

Sugar:2-4 tbsp

Baking Powder:1tsp

Baking Soda:1/2tsp

Vanilla Essence:1tsp

Vinegar:1tsp

Pre-heat the oven at 250 C. Mix the butter and condensed milk. Add sugar and mix well. Then add the vanilla essence, vinegar and room temperature milk. Add the milk little by little in about 3-4 servings. Then add the sieved flour, baking powder and baking soda. Put it into the oven and bake for about 30-35 minutes or till a toothpick comes out clean. Dust it with some confectionery sugar and serve hot.

Wreath Shaped Vanilla Sponge Cake

When I am a bit off colour some days, therapeutic baking is all I need. One such day was yesterday. Baked a simple Vanilla Wreath Shaped Sponge Cake. In Denmark this type of cake is called Kransekake and are specially made to mark special occasions like Weddings, Christmas, Confirmation, New Year's Eve, Birthdays, Anniversaries etc. During these occasions this kind of wreath cakes are made with multiple concentric layers of cakes placed on top of each other to make a steep cone shaped cake stuck to each other with white icing. Ideally these cakes are hard to touch but chewy on the inside. Mine however, was a mixture of a traditional English Sponge Cake and the Danish Kransekake where I stuck to the recipe of the former and the shape of the latter. And of course did not go for multi-layered but a single layer only.

So here goes the recipe and the MOP:

Break 3 eggs and beat them with 3/4 cups of sugar. Add the sugar little by little as you beat the eggs. Beat it till the sugar is fairly dissolved and the mixture appears pale yellow in colour. Then add 3/4 cups of sunflower oil/olive oil/butter and beat it till it is completely dissolved in the mixture. add a tsp of Baking Powder and a tsp of Vanilla essence and beat. Then add 3/4 cups of sieved plain flour. Take off the mixture and fold the flour into the mixture. Line a baking tray with butter/oil and dust it with flour. add the mixture and bake it for about 25-30 minutes at 180 degrees or till a tooth pick comes out clean. Enjoy the warm cake with some whipped cream or just dust it with some icing sugar on top.

Prawn 65

I love my prawns in whichever texture, form or sauce they are in. Prawns give me an immense sense of satisfaction at the end of the meal. Something that any other acceptable variety (my husband eats anything that walks, crawls, flies and swims) of non-veg doesn't seem to bestow on me. Prawn 65 is an innovative version of the fish preparation which initiated as Chicken 65. Chicken 65 owes its origin to a certain restaurant somewhere down south of the country. It started as a very popular chicken dish, specific to the restaurant which was against the number 65. Customers used to place their orders as 'Chicken 65' and hence the name. As the popularity of the dish spread within the country, the dish was known as 'Chicken 65'. I remember trying this dish in a shack in Goa. Facing the sea, legs spread straight, leaning on a comfy chair with a tangy flavored, relatively hot and spicy dish befriending a chilled beer sitting on a stool beside me and witnessing the approaching gray clouds from far of over the salty waters. Ah! A trip to heaven and back.  
So when I thought of bringing in the flavors of the Chicken 65 into my prawns, 'Prawn 65' is what I got. So here is a quick recipe to a super tasty, tangy prawn curry.

Ingredients:

500 gms of prawns
1 finely chopped onion
Ginger and garlic paste
Schezwan sauce
Coriander leaves
Turmeric
Salt to taste
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds

Marinate the prawns after washing them properly in 1/2 tsp turmeric and 1/2 tsp salt. Let it sit for sometime till the sauce is being prepared. In a wok put the oil and let it heat for sometime. Then put the cumin seeds. As the seeds start to pop put the chopped onions. As it turns to light brown put the ginger and garlic paste. Let it cook for sometime. Then put the Schezwan sauce and cook for sometime. Put the prawns, turn the heat low and let it cook for about 15-20 minutes with the lid on. After 20 min check on the prawns. If it is cooked then put the coriander leaves, turn off the heat and let it sit there with the lid on. I prefer to have the Prawn 65 dry with a tad bit of curry just to keep it moist. So do not put water or you will lose the flavor.